Manufacture of horse-nails.



s. M. CUTTER. MANUFACTURE OF HORSE NAILS. APPLICATION FILED DEC- 3| I910.

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Patented May 23, 1916.

W kw S. M. CUTTER.

MANUFACTURE OF HORSE NAILS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 3.1910.

Patented May 23, 1916.

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NF STAS PATENT SOLOMON M. CUTTER, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIG-NOR TO THE CAPEWELL HOB-SE NAIL COMPANY, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CON- NECTICUT.

MANUFACTURE OF HORSE-NAILS.

1 154 428 Specification of Letters Patent. "fatgn'tgfl ltiay 23 191$.

- Application filed December 3, 1910. Serial No. 595,329.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SOLOMON M. CUTTER, a citizen of the United States, residing in Hartford, county of Hartford, State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Manufacture of Horse-Nails, of which the following is a full, true, and concise specification.

This invention is an improvement in horse nail manufacture with special reference to the rate of production of finished nails, and the reliability of action and simplicity of construction of the machines by which they are made.

The improvement consists of an organization of means for supplying a continuous strip of string-nail stock, a heading-plate or like carrier wherein all the finishing operations are accomplished, and a shearing device which cuts oil the blanks from the stringnail after they have been inserted and While they are held in the said headingplate, these several instrumentalities being all coiiordinated and arr: nged for operation with positive precision and at high speed, and adapted to produce a uniform size, weight and inish of horse-nail, as hereinafter fully described and more particularly set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawings which form part of the description following, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a simple form of apparatus adapted for operation in accordance with the principles of this invention; Fig. 2 is a front end elevation of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 a vertical horizontal section enlarged, of the feed tube and heading-plate, the latter being seen in elevation; Fig. f a horizontal section of Fig. 1 showing the feed and hammer mechanism in plan; Figs. 5 and 6 are enlarged sectional details of the holding dies and the shearing and heading means, on lines VV and VIVI Fig. 2 and Fig. 7 a detail of the heading-plate drive mechanism.

These illustrations will be sufficient to indicate clearly to the builder of horse-nail machines the manner in which the princi pics of the present invention are to be applied in order to obtain the results above mentioned, but such figures are not to be regarded in any sense as working drawings, and, although they represent the preferred form, they are not to be understood as illustrating the only form of embodiment covered by the claims hereto appended.

The parts marked with the reference numeral 1 represent the fixed frame structure of the machine, the bed-plate thereof being supported 011 legs in order to accommodate the receptacle placed beneath it for the finished nails. The part marked 2 represents a device from which the nail-string or contmuous strip of partially formed nails is supplied; and this device may consist of any suitable means adapted either for making a CODHDHOUS string-nail strip or for delivering such a strip previously made in some other machine. For convenience of illustration, it is shown in the present case, as a reel or spool upon which the previously formed string-nail strip is wound and which is mounted on a post 3 at one end of the bed-plate, so that the nail-strip can be un wound and drawn therefrom under the action of the feed mechanism about to be described. As indicated more clearly in Figs. 3 and t, the string-nail 4 consists of a series of nail-blanks connected successively head to point and having their middle portions formed of the cross-sectional size, shape and general finish of the blades or cranks of the finished nail, so that no further operation on this part of the blank is re quired. The head portions of the connected blanks are of less cross-section than the finished nail-heads and somewhat elongated, and merge into the portions which are to form the points, which latter portions are in an unformed or only partially shaped condition. Such string-nail stock can be made in rolling or swaging machines which are well known for the purpose, and description thereof will therefore not be necessary. From the supply reel 2, the continuous string-nail strip passes into a channeled feed-tube 5 which leads forwardly to the heading plate of the finishing mechanism. The interior dimensions of the channel groove or guideway in the feed tube are preferably such as will accommodate the nail-strip only when introduced therein on edge, or with the narrower sides of its head portions resting in the bottom of the channel groove, so that the strip will thus be kept from turning during'its feeding movement and be maintained in the proper relation to the seats in the heading plate. The strip is intermittenly advanced in the feed tube, a distance substantially equal to the length of one of its partially formed nail-blanks,

by means of a feed head 6 which in the present instance, is mounted to slide back and forth on the feed tube 5, and comprises a pair of spring-pressed gripping fingers 7 engaging the top and bottom of the nail strip about as indicated in Fig. 3, and adapted to grip the same firmly in its for ward movement, but to slide over the strip as it moves to the rear. The feed head is engaged to be actuated by a slotted fork 8 which is carried on the end of a cam lever 8 and arranged thereon in such manner that it may yield against the pressure of a spring when the nail-strip encounters any unyielding obstruction to its forward movement. A suitable arrangement for this purpose is shown in Fig. 4 wherein the spring 9 holds the fork yieldingly in a forward, Working position on the end of the cam lever 8 to which it is pivoted. A cam 10 on the cam shaft 11 oscillates the cam lever 8. The feed tube is also provided with a retaining finger 12 adapted to restrain retrograde movement of the nail-strip therein. This finger may consist of a flat spring mounted directly on the feed tube to bear downwardly on the nail-strip as shown, and it is preferably also provided with a set screw whereby the pressure it exerts on the nailstrip can be varied to suit conditions.

The operation of the feed mechanism moves the forward end of the continuous string-nail strip from the feed tube directly -into one of a series of blank-holding seats in a heading-plate or rotary carrier-wheel 13 which is carried on a horizontal shaft let, and provided with operating means, described below, which give it a stepby-step motion across the path of feed of the nailstrip, holding it stationary between motions, with the blank-holding seats therein successively disposed insubstantial alinement with the nail-strip. The said seats are interiorly shaped in conformity to the shape of the headed or upper part of the finished nail, which configuration provides each seat with a corner or shoulder such as shown at 16 in Fig. 5, and the operation of the feed mechanism advances the terminal section or blank in the nail-strip, point first, into the seat until the enlargement representing the head of the blank abuts against the interior shoulder, thus limiting the extent of the feeding motion, after which further actuation of the feeding mechanism takes place merely against the pressure of the spring 9 on the cam lever 8, so that the nail-strip is thus pressed firmly into its seat. This condition, repeated on the entry of each blank into the seats of the heading-plate, establishes a uniform amount and disposition of metal therein from which to form the head of the finished nail. The nail-blank seats, of which there are eight in the present case, are equally spaced apart, and near the periphery of the rotary heading-plate, and each is formed of a fixed die section 17 and a movable section 18, properly sustained therein,

and provided with a transversely movable wedge piece 19 or some equivalent means,

whereby the blank-holding space or chamber form of device, as for instance by means of a fixed cam surface arranged adjacent to the path of the carrier wheel or by means of parts associated with the several tools which advance toward the blanks while within the carrier. The end or terminal nail-blank of the string-nail strip which has been thus firmly pressed into the heading plate is then cut off from the continuous body of the strip still remaining in the feed tube, by means of a reciprocating shear 20 which is mounted on a suitable supporting shdeway as shown, to work in the space between the end of the feed tube 5 and the heading-plate. Preferably this shear makes its out against the edge of the fixed die sec-V tion 17, as shown in Fig. 5, and while the feeding pressure is still exerted on the strip, but a special bed shear can, of course, be provided for it. In the arrangement illustrated, the entire mass of metal from which the nail-head is to be formed is contained within the head space of the holding chamber, after the shearing, so that the heading die enters and is supported by the holding dies when acting on the metal. The shear 20 is actuated by an eccentric 21 on the cam shaft 11 and, in the present case, is also provided with a recessed cam face 22 adapted to cooperate with the die wedge 19 as the shear advances to the work, and thus close the 'diesections upon the end of the nail-strip somewhat before the cut ismade. As observed more clearly in Fig. 5, the point of each following nail is connected to the head ofeach preceding nail, a little to one side of the center, the strip of nail blanks being substantially fiat on one side as shown. This flattened side is arranged to be proximate to the die-section 17 and rests in actual contact with the edge of this die section'or closely as before leaving another nail-blank in the heading-plate and so on.

The dies hold the blanks by their previously-finished shank or blade portions so that their unfinished points project from the forward face of the heading plate in a position to be acted upon by the pointing and trimming mechanism to which the rotary advance of the heading plate next car ries them. This mechanism involves a stationary male die 23 and a reciprocating female die 24:, both contained in a suitable bracket-support 25 and, by their operation, adapted to trim off the surplus metal from the point of the blank and fashion it into the desired shape for the finished nail. The construction of this mechanism as indicated in the present drawings is the same as that which has been long employed in nail machines and in connection with rotary heading plates of the kind described, and therefore a detailed description thereof will not be required by those skilled in this art. The dotted lines of Fig. 2 show that the reciproeating trimming die 24: received its motion through the oscillation of a bell crank lever which is driven by a cam 26 on the counter-shaft 27. The heading mechanism which next operates on the nail blank and which may be variously formed for this purpose, is shown as comprised of the usual sliding head 28, and a pair of toggle links 29, one of which is coupled to the head while the other thrusts against a fixed abutment 30. The head and links are appropriately arranged and guided on the bed plate to act upon the nail blanks during the pauses in the rotary motion of the heading plate, as will, of course, be understood, and the operation of the links is produced by the shaft 27 through an eccentric rod 31, which, by straightening and breaking the togglejoint, produces the reciprocation of the head in the obvious way. The sliding-head carries the heading-die 32, which is adapted to enter the enlarged head recess in the chamber of each pair of blank-holding dies as indicated in Fig. 6, so as toupset and shape the enlarged end of the blank therein, giving to it the form of the finished nail head. The position of the stop-shoulder 16 in the interior of the die chamber is predetermined with reference to the plane of the shear cut and also with reference to the dimensions and shape of the string-nail, so that the mass of metal left in the head portion of each blank when severed from the strip, is just sutficient to form a proper finished head when upset by the heading die, and without waste of metal by further trimming. During the heading operation, the blank is clamped in the die-sections by the action of the yielding plunger 33 carried by the reciprocating die-head 28 and bearing against the larger end of the wedge-piece 19. A

thrust block 34, secured to the bed-plate of the machine on the forward side of the headingplate, sustains the latter against distortion from the thrust of the heading mechanism, this block being recessed as shown to accommodate the ends of the nailblanks projecting from the plate. The succeeding step-rotation of the heading-plate carries the projecting smaller end of the wedge piece 19 past a fixed cam face 35, be-

neath the thrust block, by which the wedge is moved in the direction to open or relieve the pressure of the die-sections upon the nail. The nail is thus free to be discharged from the dies on reaching its final position, wherein an oscillating ejector-lever 36 driven by a cam 37 on the shaft 11, strikes the point of the nail and discharges it from the dies so that it falls through a hole in the bed plate into the nail box below.

From the description above given it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the direct feeding of the continuous nailstrip into the heading-plate in the manner above explained, involves numerous practical advantages which are independent of the specific means whereby the feeding movement is accomplished and also of the nature and number of the operations that are performed on the blank while within the headingplate. It will be particularly noted that the machine equipped with such action is capable of higher speeds and hence of greater rate of production by reason of the fact that the delay incident to the delivery, by gravity or otherwise, of a previously severed nail-blank is eliminated and that the dwell of the heading plate between each of its rotary steps need be no longer than the briefest period which will suffice to allow the several tools to perform their functions.

The fact that horse nail blanks are unsymmetrical in shape seriously hinders their manipulation in automatic machinery and renders difficult and uncertain in action any mechanism functioned to attend to the transfer thereof from one holding means to another. By retaining the terminal blank on its nail string until it is safely entered into the cavity into which it is to be completed, this uncertainty is at once eliminated and thereafter the blank, held by its already finished shank portion, can be subjected to all of the remaining finishing operations without letting go of it. The feeding of the terminal blank of .a nail string directly into the die cavity'in which it is held while being reduced to completely fini hed form and without transfer to any other holding mechanism, constitutes the essential characteristic of the combinations constituting my invention as set forth in the claims given below.

The counter-shaft 27, which drives the heading and trimming mechanisms, is shown in the present drawings as geared by its gear 38 to the driving pinion 38 of the pulley shaft 39. The cam shaft 11 is driven from the same pinion through the large gear 40, and the shaft of the latter carries a spur gear 41 meshing with a gear 42 on the shaft e3. The latter shaft carries the driving member 44 of an intermittent, star-wheel couple, the star-wheel member -15 of which is fast to the heading plate shaft 14. These two members in the present machine constitute the means whereby the heading plate receives its stepby-step rotation in the proper direction and in proper relation to the various other operations taking place in the machine, but it will be understood that other arrangements of gearing for the same purpose can be employed with equal effect.

Claims.

1. A horse-nail machine comprising a frame and means thereon arranged for en gagement with a head-to-point nail string of connected nail-blanks and operating to feed the same intermittently and with the points of the nail blanks foremost, a carrier-plate mounted to move across the line of said feed and provided with means for receiving and holding the terminal blank of said advancing string and automatically brought into alinement therewith, shearing means operating to sever said terminal blank from the nail string while within said plate, means for imparting a step-by-step movement to said plate crosswise of the line of feed to carry said severed blanks to successive stations in the path of movement of said plate, a reciprocating heading tool operative on the severed end of said blank at one of said stations to complete the head thereof, a point-finishing tool operative on the other end thereof at another station, and a device for automatically releasing and discharging the nail from said plate.

2. A horse-nail machine comprising a frame, means thereon adapted for engagement with a head-to-point nail-string of connected nail-blanks and operating to feed the same intermittently and point first, a carrier-plate mounted to move crosswise of the line of feed and provided with nailblank seats automatically brought into line with said line of feed and having a shoulder to engage the nail-blank headand form a stop to limit the feeding movement thereof into said seat, shearing means autoi'natically operative on the blank in the seat and while in engagement with the stop shoulder thereof, means for advancing said carrier plate step by step to carry the severed blank to successive stations, a heading tool automatically operating on the blank at one of said stations to completethe head, and a pointtrimming tool automatically opearting on the blank at another of said stations.

3. In a horse-nail machine, the combination with the main frame having a feed tube suited for guiding a strip of nail blanks connected head-to-point with their shank portions reduced to finished form, and a stepby-step actuated carrier plate mounted for movement across the end of said tube and having seats adapted to receive and hold said blanks by their said shank portions, with the points thereof projecting from the carrier, of means for intermittently advancing the said strip of blanks to project the terminal blank thereof into said carrier, a shearing member operating on said projected blank to sever the same from the strip, heading and point-finishing tools arranged adjacent to the path of movement of said carrier and operating successively on the severed blanks therein, and means for dis charging the finished horse-nail.

l. A horse-nail machine comprising a retary heading plate having a die-seat adapted to hold a nail blank by its shank portion, means for operating on the head and point of the blank held in said seat, in combination with a feed-tube, a device for delivering a string-nail strip into the feed-tube, said strip comprising a series of head-to-point connected nail blanks with shank portions only reduced to finished size, means for intermittently advancing said continuous strip through the feed tube, a shear operative on the continuous strip crosswise of said feedtube and parallel with the proximate face of the rotary heading plate, said shear serving to sever the terminal blank of said strip whereby the blank may be advanced by the heading plate successively into operative relation with the aforesaid finishing means, and means for ejecting the finished horsenail from the rotary heading plate.

5. In a horse-nail machine adapted to receive and operate on a continuous strip of partially formed nail blanks connected head-to-point, with their shank portions only reduced to finished size, the combination of means operating to advance said continuous strip intermittently and with the points of said blanks foremost, a step-bystep rotary heading plate provided with a series of die-seats each consisting of members adapted to grip the aforesaid finished shank portion and forming a cavity representing the shape of the finished nail-head, the said heading plate being mounted to move crosswise of the line of feed of said strip, whereby it may receive nail blanks successively therefrom, a shear also ope '2 tive crosswise of the line of feed and adapted to sever the terminal blank from said strip at a point predetermined with reference to said cavity to leave sufiicient metal on the blank to constitute the finished head within said cavity, said shear and advancing means being mutually coordinated to operate on the strip'during the dwell periods of said rotary heading plate, a point-finishing tool operative on the projecting point portion of the blank in said heading plate, a reciprocating heading tool operative on the feed side of said plate and adapted to enter the said cavity therein, and means for discharging the finished nail from the plate.

6. In a horse nail machine, means for supplying a continuous nail string of partially formed horsenail blanks connected head-to point, guiding means in which said string advances point first and intermittently, a blank-holding die mounted in front of said guiding means and receiving the terminal blank of said string, a shearing device automatically operating to sever the said terminal blank from the string after it has entered the said blank-holding die, automatically acting means for finishing the head and point of said sheared blank while retained in said die cavity, and means for discharging the finished horse-nail therefrom.

7. In a horse-nail machine, a step-by-step actuated heading plate having a blank-holding die or seat, means for supplying and intermittently advancing a continuous string of partially formed nail blanks connected head-to-point and adapted to insert the terminal blank thereof into said die or seat, a shear directly cooperating with an edge of said die or seat for severing the inserted blank from the body of the continuous strip, and means for finishing the head and point of said severed blank while within said seat.

8. In a horse-nail machine, a blank-holding device and means for feeding the end of a string-nail strip into the same, in combination with a shear acting upon said strip and severing the blank inserted in said device from the body of the strip, and heading and pointing tools operative on the blank after severance and while within said blank-holding device.

9, In a horse-nail machine, a step-by-step actuated carrier plate, means for advancing and intermittently inserting into said plate the terminal blank of a continuous nail string and before severance thereof, in combination with a shear acting on said string to sever the said terminal blank thereof while within said carrier plate, a yielding member in said advancing means adapted to exert pressure upon the terminal nail blank within the carrier plate, and head-andpoint-finishing tools also operative on said blank while within the plate.

10. A horse-nail machine comprising a frame and means arranged thereon for engagement with the nail string, one of the sides of which is fiat, and operating to feed the same intermittently, a carrier plate mounted to move across the line of said feed and provided with die-seats for receiving and gripping the terminal blank of said adparting a step-by-step movement to said ilate crosswise of the line of feed to carry said severed blanks to successive stations in the path of movement of said plate, a reciprocating heading tool operative on the severed end of said blank at one of said stations to complete the head thereof, a point-finishing tool operative on the other end thereof at another station, and device for automatically releasing and discharging the nail from said plate.

11. A horsenail machine, comprising a heading plate having a seat for the reception of the terminal nail blank of a continuous stringnail strip, means for effecting a unidirectional feeding movement of a strip of this character thereby advancing the terminal nail' blank into said heading plate and its unfinished head against said seat, in com bination with means for severing the terminal nail blank thereof while said terminal blank is within said heading plate.

12. A horsenail machine, comprising a heading plate having a shouldered blankreceiving scat, means for feeding a contin uous string-nail strip so as to advance the terminal blank into said seat until the unfinished head of the blank comes against the seat shoulder, means for severing the terminal nail blank while within the heading plate, and means for finishing the head of said terminal blank after severance and while still in the heading plate.

13. A horsenail machine, comprising a heading plate having a blank-receiving seat,

mechanism for feeding a continuous stringnail strip so as to advance the terminal blank into said seat, mechanism for severing the terminal strip while within the heading plate, and heading mechanism operating on the severed blank while still within the heading plate, said feeding, severing and heading mechanisms all operating at the same side of the heading plate.

14:. In a horsenail machine, the combination of a transversely movable heading-plate having a series of shouldered seats, meansfor supplying and means for feeding a con tinuous string nail strip so as to insert the terminal blank thereof point end first into one of said seats in the heading-plate, means operative at the feeding-in side of said head ing-plate to sever the terminal blank while said blank is in its seat, and finishing means also operative upon said terminal blank while in its seat in said plate.

15. In a horse-nail machine, means for supplying a nail-string of partially formed connected horse nail blanks having their shank portions reduced to finished size, guiding means for said string, a blank-holding die mounted to receive the terminal blank on said string and adapted to clamp said blank by its finished shank portion, a shearing device automatically operating to sever said terminal blank from the strin pointfinishing mechanism automatically operating on the point of said blank projecting from the die, means for heading said blank Within the die, and automatic means for releasing and discharging the finished horsenail.

16. The combination in a horse-nail machine, of means for automatically supplying a continuous nail-string of partially formed horse-nail blanks connected head to point and having their shank portions reduced to 4 means for heading said blank Within the die, and automatic means for discharging the finished horse-nail.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification in the presence of two Witnesses.

SOLOMON M. CUTTER.

Witnesses Gno. O. F. lVmLiaMs, O. T. MITCHELL.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. V 

